Sweet Baby has passed her four month birthday. Four months is such a lovely age. She’s alert and responsive, and she rewards our efforts at entertainment with giggles. Her hand movements are becoming more intentional, and she can roll and pivot (but not move!) She has discovered her tongue and spends a lot of time experimenting with sounds. I’m amazed by how strong and very, very cute our little one has gotten in the past few weeks. Strong, cute and hungry. And as her sole source of food right now, that that means I’m always hungry, too. Always. 
There’s a lot of information available these days about the benefits of breastfeeding, but there isn’t much about how hungry it makes the mom. I’m not sure if this is the case for all moms, but I can’t go two hours without eating something, and I’m lucky to let half an hour pass without thinking about food.
Consequently, I’m all about snacks these days. Besides my three meals, I eat at least 3 snacks. But with a baby and a preschooler needing my attention, I don’t have a lot of time to prepare healthy snacks that will ward off my insatiable hunger. So I’ve turned to calorically-dense foods: nuts, eggs, legumes, avocados. The trick is to always have some of these on hand – and prepared – at all times. So I keep boiled eggs in the fridge, soaked/dehydrated nuts in the cupboard, and cooked beans in the freezer to turn into hummus. And this week I’ve added something new to the snack list: crackers with spinacado dip.
June at the market is exciting and disappointing at the same time. Exciting because the local stalls are starting to sell newly harvested produce and not just the root vegetables kept in cold storage all winter. But disappointing because I get so excited and forget that it’s still early in the season and not a lot of produce is ready to be harvested yet.
Last weekend we were in a rush so I had to make quick decisions about what to buy at the market. After a visit to my favourite butcher stall, I headed straight to one vendor that I know sells only their own stuff. And what were they selling? Potatoes and onions, of course, and asparagus and spinach. So what did I buy? A bunch of tall asparagus and a big bag of spinach. (As an aside, the percentage of our total food consumption that is actually locally-grown is miniscule, but I’m trying to support the “farms-next-door” more and more.)
The asparagus was gone after two breakfasts and one dinner. But the spinach has lasted all week! That one big bag has been added to smoothies, fried rice, green eggs, and salads. But my favourite use for it was this spinacado dip.
Super easy to whip up in a food processor, this dip tastes good just about everywhere: mixed with rice and cucumber for a super-quick salad, atop a boiled egg and cracker as pictured, or since it’s basically spinach-infused guacamole, it tastes fantastic with tortilla chips!
And so far, Sweet Baby seems to like the “spinacado dip milk” I’ve been making with it. It’s a win for everyone!
Spinacado Dip
2 large handfuls spinach, rinsed
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 avocado
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt to tasteInstructions: Combine all ingredients in food processor and process until creamy. Eat with everything. Enjoy!
What a great snack. I might try this with some of my young nettles from the garden since not even my spinach is doing much yet.
Actually, I would have to cook the nettles lightly first!
Good point. Any leafy green would work, though as you say, some might require a bit if blanching first.